UEFA European Under-19 Championship 2022/23 Qualifying Round
Iceland v Scotland
Firhill Stadium, Glasgow
Wednesday, 16 November 2022 (7:30pm kick off)
UEFA European Under-19 Championship 2022/23 Qualifying Round
Scotland v Kazakhstan
Somerset Park, Ayr
Saturday, 19 November 2022 (3pm kick off)
UEFA European Under-19 Championship 2022/23 Qualifying Round
Scotland v France
Somerset Park, Ayr
Tuesday, 22 November 2022 (7:30pm kick off)
Scotland Men's Under-19s are back in action tonight as they kick off a crucial week with a match against Iceland at Firhill.
Billy Stark's side will play three matches against Iceland, Kazakhstan and France in the European Under-19 Championship Qualifying Round, with the top two sides progressing to the Elite Round which will take place in the new year.
Scotland Under-19s were successful at this stage last year, qualifying out of a group that included Armenia, Croatia and Gibraltar but they were unable to progress through the Elite Round which took place in Hungary in March.
Stark's side warmed up for these qualifiers with a recent friendly tournament in Slovenia, where they faced Croatia, Malta and USA.
Team News
Celtic's Adam Brooks has both forced to withdraw from the squad that was named earlier this month, with Hibernian's Murray Aiken coming in as the only change to the group.
Robbie Ure will feature, after making his Rangers league debut against St Mirren at the weekend, while Josh Adam, Barry Hepburn and Dire Mebude all coming into the tournament on the back of strong recent performances in the UEFA Youth League for their clubs.
Pre match thoughts
Manchester City and Scotland midfielder Josh Adam sat down with us to look ahead to our chances in the tournament, and reflect on a busy start to the season with club and country.
Josh, it’s a been a hectic start to the season for you from a club perspective, playing for Manchester City in both the UEFA Youth League and in their EDS (Elite Development League) side. How have you found it?
It’s been a crazy schedule. We’ve had two games a week in most weeks so it’s been game after game but the UEFA Youth League has been an amazing experience, playing against some of the best teams in Europe so it’s good to pit yourself against the best. We’ve played against Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund and Copenhagen so they all pose different challenges, physically and tactically so you just need to get used to it.
Manchester City clearly have one of the best squads in Europe. What is it like training and being around some of the world’s best footballers?
I’ve trained with the first team a few times this season. It’s great to get involved and see what the top tier is like. The first time I went up I was panicking but once you get into the session it’s just like normal. For being so famous and as good as they are, they are down to earth, and they’ll speak to you and involve you in possession boxes.
For anyone who hasn’t watched you before, how would you describe your style of play? And which players at Manchester City do you look up to in particular?
My main attributes are probably my close control, dribbling, first touch and finding passes in behind, splitting defences. Maybe Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva in terms of players I look up to. I always try to find that pass in behind and keep the ball close to my feet with the dribbling aspect. When we train with them it’s always good to see the tricks and the way they keep the ball with their amazing technique.
You came through at Celtic before moving down to Manchester during the covid-19 pandemic. How was that change?
I came through with Adam Brooks. I’ve played with him since I was eight or nine and also Barry Hepburn. I moved down to Manchester two years ago. It was difficult at the start. I moved down during the coronavirus period so everything was rigid and strict. My parents weren’t allowed down and I had to adapt. It was harder to adapt football-wise. City is such a specific club. No-one else plays like them. It took maybe two or three months and then I kicked on from there.
You’ve been involved with Scotland since Under-16 level. You must really enjoy coming away with your national team.
I love going away with Scotland. I enjoy being with the boys and it’s just a different atmosphere. Especially with these European qualifiers, being selected for them - I don’t think there’s a bigger achievement that you can get in football. We went to Slovenia recently and played three games there. It was the first time in a while, maybe in over two years, that a lot of us had played together because of the pandemic but we actually did quite well and I don’t think the scorelines reflected the performances. Just getting together again, everyone linking up was brilliant.
Yourself and Dire Mebude seem to be forming a good partnership, at both club and international level.
Dire is class. I enjoy playing with him. Me and him are on the same level, we play at club football and we play with Scotland as well. We came down at pretty much the same time and we’ve been here ever since. We’re on the same side of the pitch as well mostly and it’s enjoyable playing together.
Finally, onto this UEFA European Under-19 Championship Qualifying Round, what are your expectations?
Obviously we’re playing against good international teams, especially France but there’s no reason we can’t try our best and take points off them. With first or second we’ll get qualification to the Elite Round so that would be brilliant. I scored two goals over in Slovenia. One against Malta and one against the USA, so I’ll try and get three this time! I’m looking forward to it. I’m buzzing it’s back in Scotland. Some of my family haven’t seen me play in ages so it will be good to have family and friends all there watching.
How to watch
Tonight's match and all of Scotland's matches will be streamed live on the Scotland National Team social channels, with commentary from Andrew Maclean and Rory Loy.
Scotland Under-19 Squad
Josh Adam Manchester City
Murray Aiken Hibernian
Connor Allan Rangers
Mathew Anderson Celtic
Jacob Blaney Hibernian
MacKenzie Carse Celtic
Ryan Duncan Aberdeen
Jack Harkness Rangers
Barry Hepburn FC Bayern
Murray Johnson Hibernian
Liam McFarlane Heart of Midlothian
Ben McPherson Celtic
Adedire Mebude Manchester City
Keiran Offord St Mirren (On loan to Alloa Athletic)
Finlay Pollock Heart of Midlothian
Dylan Reid St Mirren
Kerr Smith Aston Villa
Evan Towler Aberdeen (On loan to Cove Rangers)
Robbie Ure Rangers
Bobby Wales Kilmarnock